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I don't think I've ever personally met a DJ who uses WAV's. I'm sure there are a ton who do it but I mean, 320 MP3s sound perfectly fine. You said it yourself, it's not noticeable to a casual listener which is the majority of a DJ's audience. Hell I've been listening to EDM for years and I don't notice a quality difference. Firaga fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Feb 3, 2011 |
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Feb 3, 2011 02:33
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Picking up the S4 tomorrow, and I'm recording a new colab mix with a buddy on Sunday. Needless to say I'm really excited!
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Feb 25, 2011 03:53
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Got a chance to use my S4 live last night, I'm in love with the thing. The rubber knobs are a god send. I grip the poo poo out of my knobs for whatever reason but after 5 hours of DJing my fingers didn't hurt at all. The EQ quality is miles better than my VCI-100, and the layout is extremely comfortable. I love that you have to press down on the jogs to turn on vinyl so I won't accidentally grab the track reaching for the effects. Also I spent 4 hours making a collab mix with my buddy only to realize that we recorded an hour of silence because we didn't configure recording properly ugh.
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Feb 28, 2011 03:03
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net work error posted:Here's some videos Pioneer did that are overhead views of the dj. The videos are almost a year old but I think they're still pretty good. I've been in the hospital for 4 days now after not being able to dj for almost 2 weeks, this is making me really happy. Thank you! 
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Mar 21, 2011 23:53
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Twiin posted:...or anyone who has the S4, really. Am I missing a joke or are we talking about the case?
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Apr 29, 2011 04:33
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The only thing I can recommend is to up the specs, more ram, more hdd space. That stuff never hurts. Otherwise you'll be fine, enjoy. I am running an older white macbook with 4 gigs of ram, a core 2 duo and 500gigs of hdd space with my S4+Traktor Pro 2 and I never have drops outs or lag or crashes or anything. My latency is set to 8.4-ish? Speaking of which I need to clean this thing. Just make sure you take care of it and don't fill it with crap!
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Jun 14, 2011 18:55
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artard posted:So I just booked my first live dubstep gig, and first DJing gig in almost a decade. Two sets in the same night (1 hour and 2 hours). I'm nervous as gently caress. Does anyone have any advice or a pep talk for me? I DJ with a laptop and Traktor Kontrol S4 if it matters. Drink. If you haven't been to the venue, go there if you can before the show. Show up early, sometimes venues will let you soundcheck before they actually open. Bring everything with you, bring extra RCA cords, a torch, whatever you think you may need. Don't pound back beers before you start, you'll need to piss, it will suck. Look at your crowd, they are all looking at you. Just remember that most of the people there are drunk and there to party, let go a little, relax. Nobody is grading you and if you're confident in your abilities (which I hope you are) you'll do fine. Also congrats!
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Jun 15, 2011 21:32
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Yeah that actually sounds really crazy! I was never a dubstep fan but goddamn the parties are off the wall.
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Jun 17, 2011 04:10
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I think this is an amazing tip, but DO NOT CHUG BEER. Especially if you are playing a long set. You will need to piss, it will suck.
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Jul 15, 2011 17:27
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relative_q posted:i have a couple of records that i often carry that i call "poop records" because they are long enough that i can run to the can and take a dump and get back in time to play the next record. they are essential. Ahahahah, yeah there are tricks of the trade to pooping and peeing, but it would suck if I was playing my first gig and I needed to piss like a pregnant racehorse the whole time. I saw JELO play a gig a few weeks back in a really intimate venue, and the dude always gets hammered behind the decks. At one point he just BOLTED out of the DJ booth, tripped on the dance floor, got up and kept running. Obv went to go piss. He was passing around his bottle of patron so there were randoms behind the booth and everyone was like WTF. I've asked a friend to mix for me before, since I use Traktor I just pointed where and when and gave him a simple rundown. Whatever you do, do not try and piss in the beer bottle. Most of it will miss and whatever you do, DO NOT PUT IT DOWN ON THE TABLE AFTERWARDS BESIDE OTHER OPEN BEERS. Great pissing tips itt Firaga fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Jul 16, 2011 |
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Jul 16, 2011 01:40
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Le0 posted:I'm very new to Digital Mixing (have been using MK2 for 10 years or something) and I was wondering if you guys had advice on some good controllerist to watch to get ideas and see the possibilites? Check out Ean Golden from DJ Tech Tools. He helped design the S4 and I guess is the "father" of controllerism. He even made an hour long instructional dvd that explains the S4 in and out. Firaga fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 18:13
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Professorbx posted:Dude is in no way the father of controllerism. Cats like Moldover were doing it for years before. As for the S4, it takes a lot of people to design a product. I don't think I am bugged by him saying he designed it (he doesn't overtly state it), but he never corrects anyone either, which is in bad form when you look at the sheer amount of talent at NI who helped make it happen. I'm not sure the history of controllerism, just going by what I've read. And I didn't mean to say he was the only one to design the S4, he just helped make it. He did design the custom mapping on the VCI-100 which has a lot of the same features as the S4.
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Jul 20, 2011 01:04
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Professorbx posted:Haha, sorry if it came off as sniping at you. I can't take away from what the guy did-he turned the VCI-100 around from a controller that tanked to a product that sold bucketloads. As for the mapping features making it though, the only things that really made it were the jog fx things, and there were other cats doing it to. Interesting to know. Ego or not the guy sold me my VCI-100 and he makes great instructional videos, so more power to him.
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Jul 20, 2011 01:31
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Mescal posted:thanks for the advice guys! "looking like i'm having fun" is actually the hardest part for me. whenever i'm having a blast i just look like i'm really concentrating. Don't see it as compromising. You DJ because it's fun and you're still going to have fun behind the decks no matter what you're playing. It's still your own music, it's not like somebody is like "here is a cd with top40 only play this". Even if it gets to that point, you can still mess around with the tracks. Who cares if nobody knows you're layering loops or using effects or samples, if people like it and you're having fun doing it then mission accomplished. Plus you're getting paid to do something you love, most people can't say that.
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Jul 21, 2011 02:07
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Pen Expers posted:What do you guys think of the Denon DN-X1600? I'm building a Tractor scratch setup and don't know enough about all the different mixers out there. Any mixer advice in general would be awesome. For that amount you can get a Xone:62 which is infinitely better. You can always save up a bit more and get a used DJM-800 in good condition, but since you're using Traktor you can just use the internal effects with an X1 (assuming you're getting one since you're looking at an external mixer). A DJM-700 is within your price range too and it has a dedicated EFX panel. Personally I'd get the DJM because I like the onboard effects, it's club standard, Im not a fan of the double mids on the Xone and I like the dedicated filter knobs. Although the Xone has amazing filters and audio quality. I would try them both out if I were you, also depends on what you spin I guess.
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Jul 25, 2011 19:35
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The Xone has extremely high quality audio, filters, and is built extremely well. The 6 channels are just sort of a bonus. The DJM 700 and 800 are club standard. I don't want to say the Denon sucks because I dont have any personal experience with it but I do know the Xone and the DJM are extremely high quality and are the best you can get. That and you would get familiar with the mixer for when you play out. You would get a USB controller like the X1 to control Traktor and then wire the TTs and the Mixer through the audio 6. If you want built in Traktor control you can also check out the DJM 900nexus, it's basically an 800 but with built in control. Although its quite a bit more expensive.
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Jul 26, 2011 03:14
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Pen Expers posted:Mixer + an X1 sounds like it'll probably be the way to go. Yeah this way it will be really easy for you to set up at clubs, just bring your control vinyl, your X1, audio 6, and laptop. Pick a channel on the house mixer, and off you go. Pen Expers posted:Edit: Also, am I kinda screwed by buying duo instead of pro? Sorry I can't answer this I just use pro 
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Jul 26, 2011 20:45
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To all you S4 brothers out there, do yourselves a favour and check out DJTT's S4 bag. http://www.djtechtools.com/store/gear/traktor-kontrol-s4-bag.html It will save you 30 pounds of weight on the coffin, and you can carry the rest of your poo poo in it too! Its cheaper and if you buy a good laptop stand it will add up to be around the same. Also, it's not branded! I love the Traktor logo but nothing screams STEAL ME like product logos on cases.
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Aug 4, 2011 13:54
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Le0 posted:yeah been trying to get a hand on this for a long while but as you can notice, the bag has been out of stock for quite some time now. They were supposed to get a new batch at end of july but nothing new yet. My friend actually owns this bag and I think he got his right before they went out of stock, its really great and built very well. They have been changing the ETA though which means its coming. It said 6-8 weeks before, now it says 1-3. It's too bad because I've been playing lots of gigs these past 2 weeks and I've had to carry the drat thing around in a big rear end camping bag and it looks silly. But hey, better than the box. Twiin posted:Has anyone tried the NI S4 bag? The NI bag is a suitcase. It has wheels and a little handle and I'd imagine it's really great, but once again too bulky for me. Maybe if you fly a lot. I can see it being more rugged than the DJTT bag. Also its like $250... Firaga fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 15:20
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A lot of vinyl djs have this sense of entitlement. I've seen plenty of vinyl djs out there that have been playing since they were old enough to walk or whatever, and it still takes them upwards of a minute to beatmatch a song properly and beyond basic EQing skills they do nothing interesting with their tracks. And yet you have the whole club screaming at them because they are flipping wax. It's no better than the ableton live premix>jesus pose the whole night thing. I've heard vinyl djs call CDjs "pieces of plastic with circuit boards in them" I've heard djs tell me that traktor is a fad (most of these are villalobos fans) I've heard djs complain about serato and how it crashes all the time then turn around and say traktor sucks when somebody tells them to try it out You all are full of it! I've seen no name controller djs destroy a club, I've seen people with laptops hooked up to soundcards and into a mixer who just volume fade their mixes. Eric prydz still plays with CDs, villalobos still plays vinyl, diplo uses serato, WHO CARES? I will probably never have to beatmatch again in my life. I can't see why I would unless my laptop breaks down or my soundcard or my controller and I have to use USB sticks in CDjs (I always carry usb sticks with music on them just in case), so if somebody was to ask me to teach them how to DJ, why would I start with beatmatching? They aren't going to do it and practise anyway. I would teach them about musical theory, concepts, technical aspects, techniques, etc. because that's whats going to matter when they are behind the decks. I do agree though, that the average old school DJ is better, and controller DJs are usually subpar. But I've seen it be the other way around too. Sjoewe posted:Just remember for the time being you're just someone that likes to play records and everything will turn out right. Just like baking one bread doesn't make you a baker. This is a great analogy though. When I book people for stuff, especially if its outside of their comfort zone, I always tell them "if you're not comfortable it's cool, there will be more". I feel like I owe it to my audience to put on a good show, if I can't preform I shouldn't just for the sake of being on stage. There is nothing wrong with DJing (baking) as a hobby, but just because you spin a few tracks in your bedroom doesn't mean you're good enough to play at a club (baker). You practise, you get better, and if you're serious about it you'll get your chance. Firaga fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Aug 15, 2011 |
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Aug 15, 2011 20:55
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Chitin posted:My understanding is that you can route Traktor Pro 2 through Ableton and record each deck separately/use Ableton's effects but I've never tried it. You can do this, I don't know the details but that's what Hawtin does. I know some others do it too but I'm not sure who. Basically he runs Traktor with dual X1s to control 4 decks, loops, and hot cues. Its wired through a second laptop where he uses Ableton's effects. External mixer of course, I'm pretty sure he uses a Xone 92 usually. I think Loco Dice and maybe Dubfire do this as well, but their setups are always changing... I know they use Maschine now too but I don't know if it's wired through Ableton. With Traktor's effects I can't see the need for Ableton unless you're doing some extremely creative poo poo like looping 4 decks and running samples and different effects on each deck, even then, Traktor 2 is extremely powerful.
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Aug 17, 2011 06:38
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Oh I completely agree, my point is that it's just a lot of work for the average DJ who is just doing to use a flanger, reverb, and delay. Personally I don't really feel that I'm using Traktor's effects to their full potential. I'm still trying to figure out what that delay/echo stutter that Hawtin and Dubfire always use. Or that reverb+delay+phaser sounding thing that Joris Voorn and Umek use. If you listen to their sets regularly you'll know what I mean.
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Aug 17, 2011 18:41
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For Ableton? Look for anything by Akai. The APC 20, APC 40, or Launchpad. This is assuming you want to actually DJ with Ableton and not produce (although the APC series are pretty good controllers for production as well). You're also going to need an external soundcard. M-Audio or Native Instruments make good ones.
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Aug 17, 2011 21:11
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Oh yeah, I forgot about the trigger finger. It's by Akai as well. Also the Ipad has a great Ableton controller app that a lot of big name DJs are using.
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Aug 17, 2011 21:51
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Thoogsby posted:Out of curiosity what are the implications of using a controller without an external card? An internal soundcard will have a latency of about 50ms, and an external will have a latency of about 5-10ms. Huge difference. Also it will give you a secondary channel for monitoring/queuing through headphones. You can technically do this with an internal soundcard though by changing to a 4 speaker setup and using the front two for master and the back two for monitoring. Also sound quality tends to be much better in a dedicated sound card. And the last thing is an external will have TRS, XLR, and RCA inputs/outputs so you can actually plug external hardware into it, such as a full size mixer. Or hook up to a club sound system which usually uses balanced outputs like XLR and TRS.
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Aug 18, 2011 02:04
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Thoogsby posted:Thanks for this. Can anyone recommend me a good entry level dedicated soundcard? I saw NI and M-Audio mentioned, are there pros and cons between the two or is it all preference? I'm going to let somebody else answer this question because I've been using an S4 which has it's own soundcard, so it's been a while since I've looked into them. But last I checked the NI Audio 6 is great to start with.
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Aug 18, 2011 16:56
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Traktor S2!! It's so cute! I'd imagine its perfect for a professional mobile dj (weddings, events, etc) http://www.djtechtools.com/2011/08/25/traktor-kontrol-s2-exclusive-look/
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Aug 25, 2011 17:06
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qirex posted:Looks neat and way more portable than an S4. I know Ean Golden is like filter/effect god but do people really use filters so much that it's a big complaint about what's missing? Plus it seems like a good upsell opportunity for him to sell more midi fighters. I use the filters all the time. I use them as an effect and as an EQ, most of my mixing is done with the highpass filter, I don't think I can give it up. That being said I think the S4's (traktor's internal filter I guess) is poo poo and it's one of the reasons (among others) I'm switching to a DJM so I have the colour filters. edit: to elaborate I didn't mean I only use the highpass to mix, it's just essential in my EQing. I also use it a lot as an effect, I do a lot of sweeps and I open it for breaks. Firaga fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Aug 25, 2011 |
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Aug 25, 2011 18:55
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geeves posted:words I'm a huge traktor advocate and I like to play my songs out. I'm not huge on controllerism but I use loops to extend my breaks, and for mixing. A lot of the time I'll have a track looping before I mix it in, then I EQ inside the loop and start on a queue point after a phrase. So I'm kinda sampling it/chopping it up but I end up playing the track out anyway. Joris Voorn is one of my favourite DJs because he does both. Sometimes he will be cutting songs up in traktor, other times he will play them all the way through. I don't think that just because you're using a controller and traktor you should be running 4 decks and mashing loops together, but knowing your software and taking advantage of its features will go a long way. I do agree though that regardless of what you do, nothing beats having a really healthy knowledge of your library and the music you like playing.
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Aug 25, 2011 19:07
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I wish I had to worry about whether somebody is cheating me or not! There is so much competition here if you get a gig that pays you've worked hard for it.
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Aug 26, 2011 00:08
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Mescal posted:What city do you live in? Toronto, everybody here is a DJ. When I say everybody I mean everybody. It's not like NYC where you have a bunch of dirty loft/warehouse parties in Brooklyn and a few big clubs/venues, also the drinking age is 19 (I love you NYC, no offence to you!!!). There is EDM coming out of every single club/bar/lounge/you name it. It sounds amazing until you realize that all this creates is an outlet for the most popular kids in college to throw their stupid parties. The quality in this city is extremely hit or miss and some of the bookings are completely rear end backwards. Nobody is even going to look at you because every other 20something year old is spamming facebook with their soundcloud. You need to either kiss some SERIOUS rear end, or find people that are extremely like minded and be very good so that when you get a chance behind the decks you get rebooked. Getting paid/making money is hard because there are a million parties going on every single night, chances are you're either going to break even or have just enough money to pay the "headlining" DJ. If you're making money, you're either A. playing a real venue, probably opening for somebody or playing an offnight. Or B. you know a lot of loving people and you're playing something really accessible like dubstep. Even then, I know people who work at clubs and throw parties on their offnights and sometimes only break even. The older, more established locals all have residencies and have an extremely loyal following, or have blown up and are touring the world/moved out (deadmau5, sydney blu, carlo lio). So unless you want to see the same guys every single weekend, it can be hard to find a good show. Although every so often something happens and reminds me why I love this city so much. So don't get me wrong, I'm just venting, but my point is this industry is pretty cutthroat, especially in this city, and you need to work really really really hard to get noticed and paid. I'm lucky I run with a group of really awesome and talented people. When people ask me for advice I tell everybody the same thing, just keep going. Some days its like pounding your head against the wall until you pass out but eventually you'll punch a hole in said wall. Make connections, make yourself known, PRACTICE. Find promoters and DJs you like, rather than ones that simply throw big parties. If you can work with the person you'll help each other go really far and create something yourself. Hard work and favours don't go unnoticed. Firaga fucked around with this message at 01:31 on Aug 26, 2011 |
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Aug 26, 2011 01:28
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http://www.djsounds.com/ This is almost exactly what you're looking for. Top view of the mixer, just no laptop view Im pretty sure. Otherwise dancetrippin.tv and be@tv .
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Sep 21, 2011 19:25
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The Dark Wind posted:There's also this video of Laidback Luke mixing, although to be honest I really don't like his performance in this that much. It starts around 7:20ish or so Thats from http://www.djsounds.com/
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Sep 21, 2011 21:17
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I really want to check out that K2, if the sound quality is A+H quality I want it
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Oct 1, 2011 12:24
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Volvagia posted:Woo just got a weekend monthly at a cool bar. Guess that means its time to actually learn how to DJ, not just warp poo poo in ableton. I guess the best bet is something called se..ra-to? Congrats! Nothing wrong with using ableton, just get a nice controller like a launchpad or an apc40 and youre good to go. If you really want a more hands on approach I would look into Traktor, but you're not going to be able to practice at home unless you buy an entire setup. The reason why I say Traktor is because
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Nov 4, 2011 20:42
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Volvagia posted:^^^ thanks for the info, I know you're a Tdot dude as well, we should chat. I do it with a nocturn and an lpd8 right now but to be honest I always feel like a huge poser...vinyl (or emulation) is just so much more legit. yeah I'm down! do you have plat? shoot me msg or give me an email or something. I'm in NYC until monday but we'll get in touch next week 
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Nov 4, 2011 20:55
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You're putting a lot of effort into the wrong place. edit: I'd also say Deadmau5 is one of your better track choices.
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Jan 31, 2012 20:57
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The new DJM 350 looks great. I'm not sure about the Xone counterpart because last I heard the 2 chan counterpart (the 32 I think) has gain knobs on the back (wtf?) and its filter is a lovely fader. I could be wrong though. The 350 has a dedicated colour knob so you get the filter effects of the 800 and they sound beautiful.
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Feb 15, 2012 04:31
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Well, my S4 channel B is almost completely out. Seems like a common problem for a lot of people after almost a year of fairly regular use. The channel "creeps" up and down on its own and it's gone from manageable with a quick adjustment to practically unusable. Also one of my effects buttons is becoming really stiff. Only known fix is to send it in for warranty, which Im very happy I still have, but I'm assuming the whole process will take a while. For those wondering, I gig with this thing regularly and play it regularly, at least several days a week for a few hours each day, and I've had it for about 8 months now. Time to burn CDs!
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Mar 12, 2012 06:52
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TheWevel posted:What do you guys think about in-ear monitors? Kind of tired of my ears ringing the entire day after a gig. Turn down your booth monitors? My friend uses them, likes them a lot. They are extremely expensive though.
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Mar 16, 2012 21:42
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